Theoretical Battle Scenarios
by Lethotep
Summary: Papyrus, lack of sleep and carrying on and getting things done because they have to be done regardless. Dealing with resets before Frisk arrived.
Papyrus opened his eyes. He didn't make a sound when he woke up, feeling a cold bead of sweat trail from his skull to his spine as the nightmare faded out of sight.

"That didn't happen", he whispered, "...Not this time."

He listened to the distant sounds of the woods and river behind the house as he lay in bed, taking a moment of respite to process and push away all the things that plagued sleep. Best not to think about things that can't be changed.

Ugh… Sleep really was a waste of time anyway, he rarely felt more rested than before. And it just brought up all these things he'd rather not have to deal with.

Speaking of which…

Sitting up carefully, he looked at the table next to his bed in trepidation. His action figures were just as he left them the night before. He physically relaxed at the sight. That was one less thing to worry about waking up to then!

He grabbed his phone and checked the time. Huh, three hours of sleep. That wasn't too bad. Well, he had better things to do regardless! It was still too early to head out to inspect and recalibrate the puzzles in the woods near the Ruins, and he'd already cleaned the house from top to bottom yesterday (excluding that sock! It was a matter of holding on to his standards at this point, and he wasn't going to pick it up!).

Well, nothing like sticking to a pattern!

Pulling himself out of bed decisively, he neatly made his bed before putting the Fluffy Bunny book Sans had left on the floor earlier back on the shelf, and pulling on his workout clothes.

He had hours before he needed to wake Sans up for work. Maybe he'll see Flowey while he was out running. He didn't seem to sleep either.

Did flowers sleep?

The flower had seemed sad to Papyrus lately. Maybe he could cheer him up today if he saw him, he'd been thinking of telling him he would start up a Flowey Fanclub.

He wouldn't give up!

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

Papyrus opened his eyes. He didn't make a sound when he woke up. He stared up at the ceiling for a long time.

"Everything is fine", he whispered.

Best not to think about things that can't be changed. The house felt more silent than usual this morning.

Sleep really was a waste of time. It always brought up all these things he'd rather not have to deal with.

Not to mention…

Sitting up carefully, he looked at the table next to his bed in trepidation. The figure he'd shifted to the front last night was now sitting on the left. He folded slightly at the sight. That was one more thing to worry about then.

He grabbed his phone and checked the date. Huh, only three days off what he thought it was. That wasn't too bad. Well, he had things to do today! Three days from now or three days ago, things still had to get done, plans still existed, and if he wasn't going to keep doing things… Well, Sans definitely wasn't!

Nothing like sticking to a pattern!

Pulling himself out of bed decisively, he neatly made his bed before putting the dense puzzle manual Sans had left on the floor earlier back on the shelf.

Well, he knew what he had to do today then at least! A warm up run and then an early morning training session with Undyne!

But first…

His bare feet tapping lightly on the carpeted floor, he walked out of his room and down the hall. Stopping by Sans' door, he hesitated for a moment, before quietly testing the door.

Locked.

Papyrus sighed.

He knew Sans wouldn't be up yet for hours, but after... that Bad Dream it would have been nice to check on him before he went for a run.

Everything was fine. He'll wake Sans up in a few hours like normal.

He wouldn't give up!

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

 **Reset**

Did it happen because he fell asleep? It felt like it was always something he woke up to. Another reason sleep was a waste!

It was all just dreams anyway!

None of it really happened…

.

.

.

Papyrus forced himself to look at the table next to his bed. His action figures were just as he left them the night before.

He stared in amazement.

Picking up his phone he checked the date.

That was new!

Real or not, this was definitely not a day he'd seen before, this was the furthest he could ever remember the timeline getting. True, his memories weren't the best - and he tried his best to forget certain things and pretend nothing was happening, because it wasn't!

...But he checked the time and date every morning like clockwork , and when you never seemed to get past a certain day it started to stick with you.

Papyrus shook his head after a minute.

Well, he still had things to do!

It was still too early to head out to recalibrate the puzzles, although that had to be redone today regardless! A new day! What if a human arrived? Maybe he could finally move forward in becoming a member of the Royal guard.

An old pattern for a new day.

Pulling himself out of bed decisively, he neatly made his bed before putting the car magazine Sans had left on the floor on the bookshelf, and pulling on his workout clothes.

He still had hours before he needed to wake Sans up. Maybe he'd see Flowey while he was out running. Papyrus paused for a moment, thinking of his friend. He wouldn't bring it up, if Flowey wanted to tell him why, he would. They were friends after all.

He wouldn't give up!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Sans looked at the kid as they started walking away, this was a strange day. A human child in the underground. Not unheard of sure, but the fact that this day is even happening… heh. It seemed like something was changing up again finally. Maybe.

The child had passed by the lamp and his station before finally he finally spoke up.

"actually, hey… hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favour?"

The kid turned around to face him, their face quizzical.

Sans grinned at them, "i was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately."

It had been on his mind a lot lately actually. Paps had been much more strained than usual lately.

Lack of sleep probably.

He heard him getting up less than an hour after his bedtime story most nights, often before Sans had even gone to bed himself...

Seeing the curious look on the human's face, he carried on, "he's never seen a human before. and seeing you might just make his day."

Who knows, maybe the human could cheer his brother up. If nothing else, that'd make today worth it.

* * *

(AN: Cross-posting this from my AO3 account)


End file.
